


power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely

by Tahleth



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-25 15:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12039048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahleth/pseuds/Tahleth
Summary: It starts with a dream. But dreams have power of their own and in the end there is no good or evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it.It's too late before Henry realizes that some dreams are doorways to memory that is best left forgotten.





	power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely

Henry did his best to ignore the strange ache in his chest. It felt like things were falling apart- in a way that magic or belief wasn’t going to fix. Emma was gone, the Dark One, and she felt so far away now that it was getting harder for him to get through to her. It felt like no matter what they did it was just one battle after another. Winning each challenge only led to something worse and more treacherous. Was it too much to ask for the people he loved to be safe? Magic was too wonderful to ever cast aside, but even he could admit that it had brought it’s own share of misfortune.

He looked in the mirror, taking note that he looked as tired as he felt. It was because of these nightmares, ones that had been reoccurring night after night. Dreams that felt like him but- _not_ because he could never see himself doing such vile things. He wasn’t dark. He was a firm believer in the power of good, and he knew that there was nothing the darkness offered for him. Right?

Tom. The name was like a whisper in the back of his mind. It repulsed him, but felt... like so much _more_.  
Henry shook his head, splashing water on his face a few times to clear his mind. This was just a dream caused by stress, and he had much more important things to think about.

\----

Later, his thoughts would keep going back to his nightmares at the most inopportune moments. He _knew_ how magic worked and it definitely wasn’t how his menacing dream self seemed to think it worked. Okay, so some of the rituals might be viable... but there was a logical reason for that. This was just his subconscious putting his knowledge of magic together.. even if it wasn’t entirely accurate. After all, he’d never seen any mention of a spell where someone says ‘Avada Kedavra’.

He tried to tell himself that they were just words, but after all he had experienced Henry knew that words- especially strange and unfamiliar ones- had power. He carefully tucked the knowledge into the recesses of his mind, setting it aside but not forgetting. Never forgetting.

\----

It was one thing to fight a basilisk, and it was another entirely to talk to the damned thing. She wasn’t rude persay, but definitely finicky. And hungry. Trying to talk sense into her helped keep him from getting eaten at least, but Henry had the sinking suspicion that wasn’t the last he had seen of her. Out of sight definitely did not mean out of mind. He needed to hurry and get back to the dormitory before someone noticed he was out after hours. Perks of being a prefect or no, he had an image to maintain.

Next week Henry happen across a garden snake, and listened silently to the words he was so terrified of understanding. The longer he dreamt the more unfamiliar the magic he knew and loved felt to him, a colder and more menacing form of it taking its place in his mind. Some days he wasn’t sure why he was so afraid... after all, it almost felt like coming home.

\----

Henry woke up in a cold sweat, head aching and distant thoughts of patricide on his mind. He’d long since given up on his dreams making sense. His father- his **only** father was dead and lost to him, and most certainly not by his own hand.  
He could still see the light leave the other man’s eyes, and he knew that he would do it again in a heartbeat. Baelfire didn’t know about him, but this man did and he paid the price for his betrayal.

\----

He’d never felt so.... bored looking at someone who had planned on killing him. It was pretty straight-forward, but at this point he’d rather be dealing with Cruella De Vil. At least she was somewhat interesting, and more importantly was actually willing to go through with it. Whoever this was was definitely enough of a victim that they wouldn’t do any harm on their own. Whoever had sent them would hopefully be more entertaining to deal with.

He couldn’t bring himself to say something about hope- or Merlin forbid- peace. Instead he quirked an eyebrow and eyed the nuisance with ill concealed disdain. Henry had little patience for fools.

\----

Panic surged through him. There was so little he was certain of in his life anymore. Good and evil..... supposedly two sides of a coin, now something he found to be a petty distraction from what was really important- knowledge and power. His morals may have shifted in these past few months, but in the end one thing remained the same... No one was allowed to harm his mother, the woman who took him in, who actually _wanted_ to raise him as her own.  
They were going to learn a rather permanent lesson about harming his things.

\----

He knew he'd never been magical. Not like this. It flowed through him in an indescribable way, feeling like part of him more than something he was meant to harness. Henry looked at the adversary that had his friends and family on their knees, who had the upper hand and was going to succeed if someone didn’t do something useful for once. Wasn't this exhausting? Another enemy, another day, another fight for justice.  
Wasn’t there a limit to how often they tried this silly ‘good conquers evil’ method? It clearly wasn’t going to do them any good if they were all dead.  
Henry lifted a hand and let the words flow from his memory into reality, whispering a magic so much darker than had ever been uttered in this realm. The flash of green lit up the clearing, and at the same time something in his soul slid into place at the act he’d committed.  
Henry closed his eyes at the silence that followed, caught between feeling betrayed and reveling in the terror that had been instilled in those that he had just saved.

Tom opened his eyes, with a smile curling on his lips that was as terrible as it was charming.

**Author's Note:**

> i've been wanting to explore this idea for years now, especially with the differences in magic and dark magic between the OUAT and HP universes. i'm also very weak for exploring any dark!character/crossover related storylines (i know i have some henry as the dark one fic ideas stashed away somewhere...)
> 
> i should clarify that they're meant to be the same person, but with a twist on him being reincarnated in a new life rather than displaced from his storybook world.
> 
> i've had this draft for ages and sadly it IS pretty unedited, but im hoping that posting this will give me motivation to expand on this more or get working on other fic ideas i have planned.


End file.
